Improvement in machines foe slotting harvester guard-fingers



nitrh tstts stznt frl IMPROVEMENT IN MAGHINESJFOR SLOT'IING HARVESTERGUARD-FINGERS.

tlge dgatle referat tu in time cttrrs atsnt mit mating artt ti tigt5min.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JEROME .FAssLulu of Springeld, in the' county ofClark, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement inMachines for Slotting I'Iarvcsters Guard-Fingers.; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whieh- Figure1 is a top plan of my machine.

Figure 2 is a front elevation.

ligure 3 is an end sectional elevation on line :c a; of-fig. 2.

Figure 4 shows, in side view, thc guard-finger before and afterslotting.

Figure 5 represents upper and lower bridge-frames to connect theguiderods at top and bottom, if desirable.

That others may understand the construction and operation of myinvention, I will particularly describe it.

The principal frame consists of a table, A, supported upon legs B B.This table and its legs are made of cast iron, as that material affordsthe required conditions of strength, ready manipulation, compactness,and capacity for ornamentation. The legs at each end of the table areunited near' the bottom by the braces C C, upon "which are mounted theboxes D D, for the journals of the main crank-shaft E, upon theprojected ends of which are the fast-and-loose pulleys F and G, uponwhich runs the driving-belt. The guide-rods H H are two cylindricalpillars, upon which the saw-frame is mounted. About at the centre oflength there is an enlargement with a projecting flange or collar, I, atone end ot' the same, and a screwthread for the nut J at the other.Theobject of this enlargement is to enable me to form a screwthread forthe nut J, the orifice through which must be large enough to permit theshaft of the guide-rod H to pass freely. Holes of proper size to admitthe enlarged portion of theuguide-rod are made through the table A, sothat the collar I will rest on the upper side of the table, and the nutJ will screw up hard against the lower side of the same, and the rodwill thereby be` securely and rigidly secured tov the table. Theguide-rods are then perpendicular to the surface of the table, andparallel with each other. The heads K of the saw-frame or gate areprovided-near their ends with holes, through which these guide-rods Hpass snugly, and the heads move up and down thereon freely. The saw-gateor frame is completed, and the heads K secured together, and at the sametime retained at the proper distance apart by the rods L L, which areprovided with shoulders, and screw-nuts at the ends. The attachment ofthe guide-rods at their centres requires the presence of the collars II, and the portions of the saw-frames which connect the heads must beplaced far enough inward to clearthc said colla-rs as the gate moves upand down. The rods L L are therefore placed at a distance from the endsof the heads K, through which the guide-rods pass; and in thisparticular the construction of the saw-frame and its guides is novel, sofar as Iam aware. Through the heads K K I place one or morestraining-heads M M, with screw-nuts NIN, which secure the heads M inplace, and also serve to strain the saws, as may be required. Adescription of one of these heads will apply to all. From the front andend is made a rectangular recess, into which the end of the sawprojects; 'this recess is considerably wider than the thickness of thesaw, so that the latter maybe adjusted to one side or the other, andthis is accomplished by the set-screws O O, which are tapped through thesides of the head. The pin P retains the saw within the head, and thispin is inserted through a, horizontal slot through the head, und througha hole in the end of the saw. rlhe slot permits the end of the saw to headjusted forward or backward, aud'i's retained in the desired positionby a setfscrew, Q, (figs. 1 and 3,) inserted through the back of thehead M.v When the saws It are thus placed in the straining-heads, theymay be adjusted with the utmost ease and accuracy 'in any direction sothat they will run with perfect truth, and without any possibility of aloss of adjustment. The pitman R transmits motion from the crank-shaft E.to the saw-frame K. Upon the upper surface of the table A, andextending from front to rear, midway between the guide-rods H H, is thecarriageway S, which is constructed in the -usual manner, with paralleland overhanging edges, which are embraced by the corresponding edges ofthe carriage T, which moves back and forth on said way The carriage T ismowed by a feeding-screw, having at its outer end the ratchetcdhandnvhecl U, which may be moved forward by an automatic mechanism andbackward by hand.

The automatic feed-motion is constructed and arranged as follows: To thelower side of the table A,.and near one end, is mounted in suitablebearings a short shaft, V, provided at one end with the loose pawl W,and at the other with a crank-bar, Y, which projects at right angles tothe shaft for a' short distance, and then at right angles again, orparallel with the axis of the' shaft V, until it projects over the lowerhead K. At each upward stroke of the saw-frame, the lower head K liftsthe bar W a short distance, and this, through the shaft V, lifts thepawl W, and causes the wheel U to rotate a greater or less distance,according to the proportionate distances of the various parts from theircentres of motion. That the distance which the rising of the crankbar Ywill raise the pawl W and rotate the wheel Il may be changed, the pawl Wis hung upon a short slotted arm, a, along which it may be shiftednearer to or farther from the axis of the shaft V. It is desirable thatan automatic stop should be provided whenever an automatic feed lisemployed. In this case I have adopted the following-described device:Beneath the table, and near the rear edge of same, is hung, in suitablebearings, the lever b. The inner end of this lever extends beneath theend of the crank-bar Y, so that when the outer endof biisdepressed, thecrank-bar will be raised up so high that the head K will not reach itwhen it rises up. A spring, c, thus depresses the outer end o f thelever b, when not restrained, andprevents the operation of the automaticfeed. The latch d, which is pivoted to the outer end of the lever b,serves to restrain the spring c, by hooking the free end of the ltitchdover a ledge formed for that purpose on the rear edge of the table A, asclearly shown in figs. 1 and 3. Ascrew-pin, e, set in the rear end ofthe carriage T, dis'engages the latch d, when the said carriage has beenmoved a certain distance, and thus permitting the` spring c to act, theautomatic feed is stopped. The pin e may be lengthened or shortened atpleasure, so as to stop the feed sooner or later, as desired.

Upon theupper'surface of the carriage I are the'holding-blocksfg. Theblockf consists of an angle-bar, having a tapered hole through itsupright portion for the reception of the point of the tooth orguard-finger h. The horizontal portion or base is slotted in thedirection of its length, so that it may be movedl forward or backwithout altering the position of the binding-screw c', which secures itin place. The block g holds the rear portion of the guard-finger duringtheioperation of slotting. f Across the rear portion of the. carriage Tis made a channel, at right angles to its line of movement. `Thischannel forms-a guide for the block g, when being adjusted, said blockfitting partially within this channel se as to be confined by its sides.The block g consists of a bed-plate with two flanges .at one end, whichprojects upward, and one of which forms the face, against which theguard-finger h is clamped by a screw, k, which passes 4through the otherfor that purpose. The block o is securely held in the desiredposition bya binding-screw, m, which passes upward 4through the carriage T, andthrough a transverse slot in the block into a binding-nut on the top,and a lateral adjustment is secured by the screw n, which is insertedthrough a toe turned downward from the outer end of the bed-plate of theholdingblock g, so as to bear against the edge of carriage T.

By these linstrumentalities I am enabled to adjust, with the utmostcertainty and exaetness, the guardinger to be submitted to the action ofthe saw for the purpose of forming the slot through which theharvestercutters are to be reciprocated, and by increasing the Vnumberof saws in my saw-gate, and correspondingly increasing the number of theholding-blocks on my carriage, I am enabled to operate upon anydesirable nurnber of fingers at-the same time, though in practice I havefound that two saws and holders to each machine is an advantageousnumber. I l

It` may sometimes be found desirable to inc ease the stiffness of theguide-rods H, and I provide for that purpose bridge-frames, asrepresented in iig. 5, r being the upper frame, and t the lower one,with an opening for the pitman through its centre. These frames arefitted tothe upper and lower' ends of guide-rods H H, and

are secured there by screw-bolts, though their use is considered asseldom, if ever, necessary.

The point of thefclamping-screw 7c is`providcd withwhat is known as ahollow orfemale centre, so that, instead of making a conical indentationwhere it presses againstthe guard-finger, a slight ring only isindented, and the further advantage is also gained, that the centre isless liable to slip to one side as thc screw is forced up than would bethe case if a point only should be used.

When'the guard-finger is to be placed in the machine to be slotted, thesurface, u, of the heel, which has been rendered true in the milling orplaning machine, is placed against the face of the flange g, fig. 1, andthe screw k forced against it. The `'ringer is then in the properposition to be slotted; the point-holder f is then brought to the pointof the finger, so that the end thereof is inserted through the holeprovided for it, and the nut on thc screw t' is tightened so as toretain the finger in position. In practice it is only necessary toloosen l the nut on the boltz' when the new finger is to be inserted, asa very little change of position is all that is required ir any case.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is- Securing the guide-rods, constructed asdescribed, to the table A, substantially in the manner shown and setforth. l

The rods L L, to connect the heads K K of the saw-frame, iii-connectionwith the independent guide-rods I H H, in 'the manner shown and for thepurpose set forth.

The'straining-head M constructed as described, with the set-screws O O-Q and the pin P, passing through a horizontal slot, for the purpose setforth. l

The holding-block g, constructed as described, to hold the guard-finger71. while being slotted, as set forth.

In combination with the holding-block g, the point-holder f, allconstructed as andfor the purpose set forth.

The carriage I and holding-bloeksj` and g, combined and arranged as setforth.

The combination of the carriage T, holding-blocks g and f, and thesaw-frame K L, when the carriage and holding-blocks are located andarranged between the parts of the saw-frame, as set forth.

The arrangement of the shaft V, pawl W, and crank-bar Y, with theratchet-wheel U, and head K of the saw-frame, to produce an automaticfeed for the carriage T, as set forth. l

In combination with the automatic feed-motion herein described, thelever b, spring c, latch 0l, and pin e,

for the purpose of disconnecting the said feed and arresting the forwardmotion of the carriage T, as and for the purpose set forth. i

JEROME FASSLER.

Witnesses:

TL J. PRINGLE, W.. BnowN.

